Madwoman in the Box
by stephanolikesthings
Summary: A collection of one shots about Luna Lovegood as the eleventh Doctor's companion.
1. Madwoman, Meet Madman

Luna Lovegood was having a wonderful summer. It was a warm day in England and she was searching for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks with her father. She'd spent the morning with him, following a trail left by one. ("Snorkacks always leave signs, Luna," he'd told her. "They're just so small and common that most people miss them.")

Luna was wandering through a small forest, watching the animals interact. It was when she stopped to tie her shoe when she saw it.

A 1960s muggle police box.

Luna stood up, entranced by it. It really was quite unusual, she pondered. To her knowledge, police boxes haven't been used in years, and really, why would one be in the middle of a forest? She walked slowly towards it, running her fingers along the sides. "What are you doing here?" she murmured to herself, stopping to stand by it.

The Doctor was running.

The day had started out normal—well, as normal as it can get when he's travelling to another dimension (which is to say, not very normal at all). He had had some free time so he decided to just pick a random dimension and visit. It was supposed to be a _fun_ visit. All he was doing was looking!

All right, so he _might've_ been poking around at the trees. If he knew he was going to upset them, he wouldn't have done it. So now the Doctor was running from a very cross pair of Bowtruckles. "Please, I'm sorry! I was only looking! I didn't mean anythi—Ow! Ouch, that really hurt!"

He swatted at the small creatures as he ran towards the TARDIS. But, because he was distracted, he didn't notice the thoughtful girl pondering over his Sexy.

He ran into her, which gave the Bowtruckles just enough time to start going for his face again. "Ouch! Stop it! You aren't very nice at all!"

Luna stood up before turning to the strange man. She recognized the Bowtruckles easily enough. (They were quite interesting creatures—but not as fascinating as the Nargles.) She calmly reached into her bag and pulled out a small jar of woodlice—she always had some handy, just in case she ran across some Bowtruckles' home.

Luna walked over, holding the jar out to the angry creatures, her slow actions in complete contrast to the Doctor's frantic flailing. The two Bowtruckles looked at each other, before flying to the jar and calmly crunching on the woodlice. Luna set the jar down away from the strange box and the strange man.

"They can get quite mean when someone's attacking their home," Luna said in that dreamy voice of hers, turning back to the man. He was looking at her with the most curious expression on his face. "You shouldn't have upset them."

"I didn't upset them! I was just looking—Okay, so _maybe_I soniced the tree once, but I was just curious about what was inside. Oh, but of course, it doesn't do wood!"

Luna watched as the man rambled for a bit. He was quite an interesting muggle. He wore black pants, a white shirt with suspenders, a brown jacket, and a bowtie. _That isn't how most muggles dress_, she mused, observing as the man talked and played with something that looked like a wand.

"Right, well, thank you for your help, uh—"

"Luna. Luna Lovegood."

"Thank you, Luna. Now, if you excuse me, I m—"

"What is it?" Luna asked, looking at the box again.

"What is—Oh, that's the TARDIS. She's nice, isn't she?" the Doctor grinned, patting the side of the box.

Luna nodded. "She's lovely. But, what is she?"

"Well, she… She's the TARDIS. She's my ship."

"Ship? Like… That muggle boat thing?" Luna asked. It didn't look much like a boat. It looked like a police box.

"No, not exactly, more like a—Why don't you see for yourself?" he said after a moment. Luna looked at him curiously for a minute before nodding.

"All right then. But afterwards, I really should get back to looking for the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. Daddy brought me here special and—Oh!" she gasped, stepping inside. "It's bigger on the inside!" she said excitedly.

The Doctor grinned, "Oh, I love it when they say that! Well, Luna, this is the TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. She's my space and time ship. She can take me anywhere I want to go—to the future, the past, different planets, anywhere," he explained, running around and playing with buttons.

"She's very lovely," she murmured, gazing around, walking to where he was standing. She looked at him for a moment. "You're very old, aren't you?"

The Doctor's grin faded into a small smile. "And you're very… intuitive. Yes, I'm old."

"You're not from here either, are you?"

He nodded. "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord," he explained, leaning against the control panel. "I'm over 900 years old," he said, fiddling with one of the joysticks.

Luna nodded once, before looking at him again. "You're also very sad," she murmured. She trailed her fingers along the walls of the TARDIS, walking around. "I can see it, in your eyes. You've lost something important, haven't you? It's okay, I lost my mother. But I have friends now, and they make me happy. Do you have friends, Doctor?" she said, turning back to look at him.

He had a very small, sad smile on his face. "You are a very intuitive girl, Luna." He paused for a moment. "Would you like to come with me on an adventure?"

Luna pondered it for a moment. He looked quite lonely, and Luna remembered how it felt to be like that—back before Neville and Ginny and Harry and the others. She smiled softly. "When would I get back? My father will be looking for me."

The Doctor grinned again. "We can travel anywhere for as long as we want, and still be back here in five minutes. That's the beauty of the TARDIS!" he yelled animatedly, running around to the other side of the control panel.

Luna smiled a very large smile. "Okay. Yes, I'd like to go on an adventure," she said, skipping over to where he was.

"Good. Now, where would you like to start?"


	2. Madwoman's Adventure

"Now, Luna, if you could go anywhere, where would you go?" The Doctor asked, running over to the control panel.

Luna thought for a moment, following him slowly. "Well. I've always wanted to see the man in the moon. My mother used to tell me stories about him. It'd be nice to meet him," she said after a moment, pausing to stand by him.

He looked at her for a moment, before shrugging and putting in the coordinates for the moon. He laughed a bit when he saw Luna holding tightly to the railings when the TARDIS started to shake and move. She sighed a bit in relief when the TARDIS stopped.

"Well, alright then. If my calculations are correct—and they usually are, we should be on the moon. You can step outside, but if we stay for too long we'll have to put on suits. The dear doesn't hold that much oxygen," he said, patting the control panel fondly.

Luna smiled a bit before walking to the doors. "The moon is out there?" she questioned, sounding curious but not skeptical. She watched as the Doctor nodded. Then she grinned brightly and stepped out onto the surface of the moon.

She gasped a bit, seeing the wonderful view and the scene of Earth below. "This is amazing," she breathed, taking in the view.

"Yeah, moons are always pretty cool. They're great places to visit. I once camped out here," he said, gazing out with her.

Luna turned around pointedly. "So, where does the Man in the Moon live? I've been meaning to ask him some questions. Mainly about why he exactly created the Nargles," she murmured dreamily.

The Doctor coughed a bit. "Right. Well, supposedly he lives over there, facing the Earth," he spoke quickly, pointing to the left of them, "but I like to think that he actually lives over there, on the dark side of the moon. Much better view of Mars and what not. So, I would suggest we grab some lights and head over there," he finished, turning to walk back into the TARDIS.

She stayed for a few moments, gazing at the Earth before following him back inside. "Doctor? Where are you?" she called out, not seeing him in entrance way.

"Just a moment, I'm trying to find the lights! They used to be next to the library, but I think... Ah! Found them!" he said, coming back with two miner's hats and no less than seven different flash lights.

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "Is that muggle technology? How does it work?" she asked, picking up one of the flashlights and turning it on. She watched in fascination at how easily it turned on and off. "Oh, this is ingenious!" she said with a laugh, putting one of the hats on. "How do they come up with it?" she murmured, switching the light on her hat.

The Doctor grinned a bit, seeing her so intrigued by the simple flashlights. "I'm not exactly sure how they work, but we really should go if we want to meet the Man without having to wear those ridiculous suits," he said, pulling on his own hat. "Now, c'mon, you still do want to meet him, don't you?" he questioned with a smile, walking out of the TARDIS.

She eagerly followed, simply brimming with anticipation. "Oh, I'm so excited! I don't think I've been this excited since the D.A meetings started!" she laughed in her own quiet way, skipping along and playing with the flashlight. "My mother told me stories about him all the time when I was younger. It was my favorite bed time story," she murmured, remembering past nights with her mother.

The pair walked and chatted as they neared closer to the Man in the Moon's home. "Oh, we should probably turn on our lights now. It is getting a bit dark," Luna said, cutting off one of the Doctor's stories.

"Oh good, that means we're almost here. We only need to walk about ten fe—oh look! There it is!" he said, pointing to a small hut a few feet in front of them.

"Is that where he lives? Oh, I should have brought a gift! It's rude not to," she frowned, looking at the door sadly. She brightened quickly. "Oh! I could give him my extra necklace! I make plenty, just in case I lose them. I can't have the Nargles infesting my brain," she said, pulling out a necklace from her pocket that was identical to the one on her neck. "Do you think he'll like it?"

He smiled. "I'm sure he'll love it. Now, go on, what are you waiting for?" he questioned, motioning her towards the door.

She took a deep breath before knocking on the door. The door opened slowly, revealing the face of a pale, old man. He had a bald head, was rather short, and had a friendly atmosphere to him. She grinned brightly, not believing that this was real.

The man looked at the pair, before blocking his eyes. "Do you think you could put out those lights? They're a bit bright," he said kindly, walking out of his small home.

Luna quickly shut off the one on her head but kept the one in her hand on, only so she could see him. "Oh my. You really are real!" she said with a laugh, bouncing slightly on her toes. This was the man who her mother told stories of, the man who her father insisted created the Nargles, _and she was talking to him. _

"Of course he's real! There have been so many legends about him, so he can't be fictional," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes a bit. "All stories have some truth in them; it's just that some are hidden well."

The Man smiled. "He's right you know," he said to Luna. "Now, I take it you're staying for a bit? Come in, come in," he waved them into his home, walking slowly.

Luna turned to the Doctor. "I can't believe it! He's actually real! Thank you for taking me here," she smiled, before following the Man.

He was sitting on a wicket rocking chair in the middle of the hut. "Well, I'm the Man in the Moon, to put it simply, but you can call me Wu Kang, Gekkawo, Hjuki, or Máni. They're all my names." Máni looked at the pair, before pointing to each one. "You're Luna and you go by the name Doctor," he said, leaning back in his chair.

Luna grinned more. "You're better than I thought you'd be! Oh, I've heard so many stories about you," she exclaimed, sitting down on the floor near Máni's chair. "I simply love everything about you. I did have question though. Why exactly did you create the Nargles?"

"Ah, well, there's an interesting story behind those little buggers. You see…"

The Doctor looked around the hut as Máni and Luna discussed the rare creatures. It really was amazing how the Man adapted to live in the dark. He took out his trusty sonic screwdriver and soniced a few things.

"Ah, I see… Very interesting," he murmured to himself, interpreting the readings from his sonic.

"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't hear you poking around in my things," Máni said casually. "You don't have to scan my knick-knacks," he laughed.

The Doctor scratched his neck, walking back over to where Luna sat simply brimming with happiness. "Er, sorry. Sort of a force of habit," he muttered sheepishly.

Máni waved him off. "You weren't hurting anything. Now," he continued, turning back to Luna, "you said you wanted to give me something?"

The normally very relaxed girl smiled nervously before pulling out the necklace. "If the Nargles are ever bothering you too much, you could wear this. It keeps them out of my head," she explained, showing the matching necklace she wore.

The old man smiled softly. "It's been a long time since I've gotten a gift. You're very kind, Luna. You'll be going places, dear," he said, placing the present around his neck.

The Doctor thought Luna's smile couldn't get any bigger.

Which is why it was really bad that they had to leave.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we really should be going. The TARDIS is probably running out of oxygen," he said, a bit sadly.

Luna frowned but stood up. "Máni, you have no idea how nice it was to meet you. I've heard so much about you and you're absolutely wonderful. Thank you for the information on the Nargles; that should help Daddy and me warn others about them."

"Well, you're welcome then. If you ever find yourself on the moon again, just drop by. Nice people like you are always welcome in my home," Máni said, standing up and opening the door for the pair.

"Right well. Goodbye," the Doctor said, turning on his miner's hat and walking out.

Luna paused once in the doorway. She quickly turned around and hugged Máni before smiling and skipping out the door. "Goodbye, Máni!"

The two could hear his laughter as they walked back to the bright side of the moon and back to the TARDIS.

"Oh, thank you, Doctor! This has been one of the best days ever!" she said, eyes completely bright.

"Well, I'm glad you had fun. I'll have to visit again," he said, leaning against the control panel.

"He was telling me the most marvelous stories. Oh, thank you so much!" she laughed.

"Anytime. I've been meaning to come back to the moon anyways. The TARDIS has wanted to come back for a while. She loves the view. Isn't that right?"

The TARDIS made a little whirring noise.

"Now, where to next?"

I hope you enjoyed the second piece! It was so much fun researching the Man in the Moon, and I hope you enjoyed him like I did. All of the names are based off of the different legends based off him (I choose Máni, the Norse name for him, because it was the easiest to pronounce). Special thanks to Tumblr user livetotry-beproud for editing this fic for me. I couldn't thank you enough! I hope you enjoyed this story, and please leave a review if you have the time. Thank you for reading!


End file.
